Echoes in the Night
by Rain.Wolf.Storm
Summary: Ekhothesia was captured in the Trojan War, and is now a servant in the great city of Athens. But there is a secret about her heritage that even she does not yet know: She is a demigod. For the second time she is torn from everything she knows, and this time her journey's end is far more uncertain than just a Greek city across a ragged sea.


**A/N: Hope you guys like this... Sort of an experiment. Let me know what you think!**

_Slosh, splash, slosh…_

The material slipped from her hands, and for just a moment, Ekho caught a glimpse of her silvery gray eyes reflected back at her in the ripples. She met her own gaze in the wash basket, and tilted her head a bit, regarding herself, before lifting the article of clothing again and continuing to scrub it clean.

"_Ekhothesia!_" A voice screeched, ringing from inside the tall stone building. With a groan, Ekho let the silken fabric she fall back into the wash basket again with a _slop_. Some of the drops splashed up and caught in her thick, waist-length amber-gold curls. She quickly made her way inside, receiving sympathetic glances from the other women who served her mistress. She lifted the skirt of her dress so she could run, quickly dropping it again when she reached Mistress's chamber. She heard a baby crying, and silently cursed herself for not asking another woman to watch the child while she washed her mistress's clothes. She knelt before entering the room.

"My apologies miss, I was outside washing." She explained to Mistress as she lifted the babe from its cradle and hushed it gently. Its wailing ceased entirely, and it closed its eyes. In an exasperated tone, Mistress pardoned her, and asked that she finish washing once the baby was asleep again. _A bit late for that…_ Ekho thought. The infant was already sound asleep again, and Ekho gently put it back in its cradle. Mistress saw this, and her mouth set in a line. Kneeling again before she left the room, Ekho went to finish her work.

As she sat once again to wash the clothes in her basket, she sighed. It hadn't always been like this. Her father and she had lived in the great city of Troy, before the Great War. They had been well regarded by many, and had lived a life of modest luxury. During the war, though, they had been taken by Athenian soldiers. She remembered the entire thing with perfect clarity.

_"Run, Ekho, run as fast as you can!" Her father was shouting from ahead of her. She was twelve at the time. The long, soft, flowing skirt she wore was tangling around her legs, and getting caught in the brush on the path to the temple. Just before she reached the sanctuary, a particularly wicked branch caught the material and sent her to the ground. She fought viciously to free herself, the thorny wood scratching at her arms and legs as she tore at the fabric._

_ The voices of Athenian soldiers were growing ever closer as she struggled. Suddenly her father was there, his skilled inventor's hands easily freeing her. He grabbed her hand and ran with her to the temple, where he immediately knelt at the altar and began muttering prayers too quickly for Ekho to understand. She knelt too, but before she could utter even a word of prayer two huge hands grabbed her by the shoulders and wrenched her from the altar. There were shouts, and her father was thrown to the ground. A sword was raised when from the sea of voices one rang out._

_ "Do not kill him! By Athena's will, he is not to be killed!" A man dressed in the robes of a priest stepped forward. "They are to be returned to Athens, with us. Athena has given me a vision. We must bring them to the house of Eurycles and Anthenadora. By Athena's will, it must be done!"_

And so it had been done. Her father was locked away in the cellar of the house, a prisoner, while Ekho was a servant to the Mistress. It had been this way for five years now.

Once she was done with the clothes and her other chores, Ekho sat in her Mistress's chamber, cradling the baby and smiling as its bell-like giggles rang through the room. She tickled its belly, bending her head to rub its nose with hers. The babe laughed all the more, and was joined by a deep chuckle. Ekho jumped. A young man with tousled brown hair and sea green eyes leaned against the door, only laughing more at her reaction.

"Calm down, Ekho. I'm just here to tell you to get ready. We're leaving soon." He told her. It was Philius, the Mistress's eldest son and Ekho's best and truest friend in all Athens.

Ekho nodded, smiling a bit, and put the baby back in its crib, lulling it to sleep with a short, gentle melody. One of the kitchen maids was going to tend to it while they were out. Today, games were being held at the Athenian arena.

Almost as soon as the babe was asleep, Mistress came into the room frantically, her robes hastily tied and her hair a mess. Her wild eyes sought out Ekho, and she gestured to herself helplessly. Repressing a smile, Ekho helped her get ready; Philius stood laughing at his mother's frazzled state from the door all the while. Once they were all ready, Ekho's own hair tied over one shoulder in a thick, curly amber twist, they set out down the stone streets to the arena, Ekho carrying a flask of wine.

Once there, the family sat together, Ekho sitting just below her Mistress and Philius. She was in charge of keeping her mistress's hair in order and wine cup full. She quietly watched the games, occasionally glancing at Philius or at the high class families sitting all around them. She had little taste for the games. She simply didn't see their merit.

It was about halfway through the games that all Hades broke loose.

A blazing inferno suddenly struck up in one side of the arena, and moved at a supernatural velocity towards the stands. Shrieks and screams filled the air as people fled from their seats, tumbling over each other as the hellish fire surged into the seats. Ekho was strangely entranced by the flames. She couldn't stop staring at them, even as they rushed toward her. In them she saw shapes; monsters and beasts that she had only seen painted onto pottery were dancing in their depths.

Ekho was knocked to the ground, just as a flying ball of flame flew over her and her rescuer.

"Ekho what are you doing?! Move!" Philius was already lifting her to her feet and shoving her in the direction of the fleeing crowd.

With that, instincts kicked in, and her feet were flying over the stone. They hadn't made it ten feet when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her to the ground. Philius protected her body with his own as a wave of fire dove over the crowd, causing a huge chorus of shrieks and dropping people to their knees.

Ekho's ears were pierced by a sudden shriek; the sound of a child in terrible pain. Before Phyllius could stop her, she was up and running towards the sound. A young boy was surrounded by fire creatures, and Ekho nearly screamed when she saw terrible burns on the child's arms and legs. Without thinking she leapt for it, scooping the young boy up and running. She yelped when she felt burning fangs nip at her shoulders and ankles, but she pushed herself to run faster. A deep growl from the side caught her off guard, and she tripped, turning so her back would absorb the fall while cradling the child, who was crying hysterically.

A woman standing nearby screamed and ran forward, snatching the boy away and running out of the arena with him. Phyllius had disappeared, swept away by the crowd. As more and more people flooded from the crowd, Ekho felt the heat of the flames circling her like vultures. The fall had winded her, and she closed her eyes, praying to every god she knew to help her. Then a low growl sounded, and the heat was gone. Ekho's eyes snapped open. Before her, Ekho saw a handsome wolf-dog who appeared to be keeping the fire creatures at bay. It fixed its gaze on her, and with a gasp she turned and ran, letting her feet carry her exactly where the wolf wanted them to.

Before she knew it she was rushing down the streets of Athens, fast as the winds. The streets had been deserted; the people locked away in their homes for fear that the fire creatures would come. She ran on, all the way to her mistress's gates. They lay locked, the guards stowed away in the house along with the family. Ekho nearly sobbed when she saw the heavy locks all in place. She rattled the gate and called for help, desperation making her voice shrill.

She gasped when she noticed the wolf-dog, glowing slightly and watching her with highly intelligent eyes. She sank to her knees beside it, and it cautiously moved forward, gently licking her hand. She looked wildly around for anyone to help her in, but there was nobody. The wolf-dog suddenly began howling, and Ekho tried to hush it.

She let out a short cry when two strong arms lifted her from the ground and fastened themselves around her arms, caging her. She thrashed and cried out, struggling desperately, but her captor held fast.

"Ekho, calm down! Damn it calm down!" She stilled at Phyllius' order. Whipping around, which he carefully allowed, she stared at him. She quickly dropped to his feet, head bowed in shame.

"Phyllius, I'm sorry, I didn't… I thought you'd be in the house so I… I'm…" She stammered, but he only pulled her up again. His grip was much softer now.

"It's fine, Ekho. I just needed you to stop," He assured her gently, "You're not in trouble."

She sighed in relief, keeping her gaze lowered nonetheless.

"Phyllius, maybe we should go inside. I don't know if those things are still there, but if they are-" She was abruptly cut off by a new voice.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, Ekhothesia." Ekho turned to find that the voice belonged to a young man, dark golden hair falling in light waves over his striking blue eyes. Ekho tensed a bit, glancing at Phyllius.

"Phyllius who is this?" She asked in a small voice. She had a very bad feeling about this situation. Phyllius frowned, glancing at the newcomer.

"Ekho, this is Alec. Alec, this is Ekho." The new boy's eyes seemed to flash a bit when he was introduced. Ekho shuddered. He was giving her chills.

"Why can't we go back to the house?" She asked Phyllius. He sighed.

"You're just going to have to trust me on this, Ekho," He told her. She took a step back, and Alec frowned. He seemed to foresee her next move, and just as she bolted he caught her around the waist and hauled her just around the wall of the house. Before she could scream his hand clamped down on her mouth.

"Alec! Alec this is unnecessary!" Phyllius called out, following. They came up to an expensive-looking roofed chariot, all iron and bronze. Two pale horses pawed the ground in front of it. Alec lifted Ekho into the carriage, and Phyllius took the reins. Ekho only stopped fighting once the carriage had started moving. She went limp, shaking, and kept her eyes tightly shut. Alec sighed after a few minutes.

"I'm sorry I was so abrupt…" He said quietly. She was silent. "It was dangerous for us there. We had to move quickly. We didn't have time for you to run," He continued. Ekho nodded once. It wasn't her place to challenge a high-born Athenian man. She kept her head down as the carriage left Athens far behind. Alec spoke again once they had left the city.

"I promise you this, Ekhothesia. All will be explained once we reach sanctuary," He said quietly.

At that she opened her eyes, and resigned herself to wait.


End file.
